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Insurers: ‘Light at end of tunnel’ over taxation
Bahamian insurers yesterday voiced relief that there is “light at the end of the tunnel” after the Government said it would drop plans to move the industry to a Business Licence fee taxation regime.
Skills transfer woe still a ‘sad reality’
The Bahamas must change “the sad reality” that key skills and knowledge are not being passed on to local workers by expatriate work permit holders, a prominent contractor argued yesterday.
CCA: WE SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF BAHAMAS – Contractor reached out for help to son of top govt advisor
Baha Mar's main contractor asked the son of Perry Christie's top policy adviser to intervene when his father proposed changing The Pointe's Heads of Agreement over how many Bahamian construction workers would be employed.
DPM: Bahamas must ‘prove’ itself to S&P
* ‘Not at all’ upset nation still ‘junk’ * Blames former Govt’s failure to deliver * Nation has 12-24 months to execute
The Government must “prove” it can deliver on its fiscal and economic turnaround strategy, the Deputy Prime Minister admitted yesterday, after Standard & Poor’s (S&P) kept the Bahamas at ‘junk’ status. K P Turnquest told Tribune Business he was “not at all” disappointed at the outcome of S&P’s annual review of the Bahamas’ sovereign creditworthiness, despite having previously expressed optimism that the Government could make the case to be upgraded to ‘investment grade’ status.
Freeport investment law blasted as ‘anti-business’
Freeport’s new tax incentives law was yesterday branded an “abomination” and “anti-business” by an FNM Senator, who argued that it will undermine both the city’s founding agreement and economic growth.
Corporate redress regime upheld with $33m verdict
The Supreme Court has prevented the Bahamas being perceived as “a parochial, quirky jurisdiction” for international business through its recent ruling on a $33 million insolvency dispute, a former attorney general said yesterday.
Baha Mar expat staff face October 31 wait
Former foreign employees of Baha Mar have to wait until October 31 to see if they will recover what is owed to them, while their Bahamian counterparts have been reminded of the “take it or leave it” approach.
Receiver dismisses 'uninsurable' Baha Mar allegations
Baha Mar's receiver yesterday dismissed claims by firebrand FNM MP, Dr Andre Rollins, that the $3.5 billion development is both "uninsurable" and will cost a further $1.8 billion to complete.
Ex-minister: Dingman case 'waste of judicial resources'
Trying the $1.1 million damages claim against Jamie Dingman's failed Nassau restaurant empire in New York will be "a waste of judicial resources", a former Cabinet minister is arguing.
Buyers 'pull back' on Moody's threat
International buyers are "pulling back" due to uncertainties caused by Moody's threatened downgrading of the Bahamas to 'junk' status, realtors have warned.
‘No way’ Bahamas can be cut to junk
There is “no way” that Moody’s can cut the Bahamas to ‘junk’ status because it is still meeting all its debt obligations as they become due, a former finance minister argued yesterday.
Landfill chief: ‘Don’t read anything’ into our CEO transition
Renew Bahamas’ principal shareholder yesterday said “nothing can be read” into his stepping down as the New Providence landfill manager’s chief executive, as concerns persist over its financial health.
US govt blasts Bar Association
The US government has criticised the Bahamas Bar Association for failing to pursue complaints about the conduct of member attorneys, disclosing that several of its citizens had suffered “significant losses” on flawed real estate deals.
Green economy gives ‘opportunities galore’
The Government would help create a “far greater” number of “meaningful” Bahamian jobs if it abandoned its current development approach in favour of the ‘green economy’, a well-known QC believes.
Moody’s to make Govt ‘come clean’
Moody’s downgrade threat will force the Government “to come clean”, the DNA’s leader said yesterday, and be more accountable and transparent than it has been with the Bahamian people on the nation’s fiscal crisis.
Fiscal hawk fears politicians won’t ‘face the music’
The Government yesterday asked Moody’s to ‘take a bet’ that its economic growth and Budgetary initiatives will succeed, as a well-known fiscal hawk said: “They’re not going to have to face the music.”
Govt sought BPL fix in 12-months
The Government wanted Bahamas Power & Light's (BPL) manager to guarantee its facilities would match the operational standards of comparable energy utilities within a year of taking over, Tribune Business can reveal.
Sarkis loses bid to buy $192m claims
The Supreme Court yesterday ruled it was legally impossible for Sarkis Izmirlian to acquire the rights to Baha Mar’s $192 million damages claim against the project’s contractor.
PM: Atlantis makes granting Chinese demands impossible
The Prime Minister yesterday said Atlantis’s ‘most favoured investor’ status made it impossible for him to grant the type of incentives the Chinese were said to be demanding over Baha Mar.
'Little chance' to lower high debt, bad loan levels
The Central Bank of the Bahamas has admitted the current economic climate provides "little opportunity" to reduce high consumer debt and loan delinquency levels, with only 'qualified borrowers' able to access credit.
